Hole in the Wall
Pairing: Rhett Abbott x Fem!Reader
Summary: When life hits you hard, you find yourself returning to your hometown in Wyoming after you swore to never look back. On an emergency trip to the hardware store, you run into your old classmate, Rhett Abbott, who also happens to be your high school crush. Some feelings, you realize, never truly went away.
Word Count: 4.1k
Warnings: MINORS DNI!! NSFW 18+! (fingering, unprotected p in v sex [WRAP IT UP, KIDS]), feelings of inadequacy/being stuck, fluff, confessions, banter, Y/N doesn't know anything about drywall
A/N: Sorry I was staring at that GIF for five hours. I rewatched Outer Range (mostly the parts with Rhett), and was inspired by my husband once again. I do know my way around a hardware store, but I'm forsaking feminism for this fic lmaooooo
You were never meant to come back to Wabang, or at least that was the plan you made at eighteen years old - to leave and never come back. For a while, you stuck to that plan, and went out of state for college, stayed away from Wyoming for five years. Everything was fine until after you graduated. Continuing school was already too expensive, and the job market was absolute trash. Then came the health issues, which, after years of not knowing what was wrong with you, came to a head. All of it sent you spiraling into an existential crisis. What you thought your life would be like came crumbling down, and to stay afloat and figure yourself out, you had no choice but to move back in with your parents.
What a joke.
The upside in all of this was that you wouldn’t actually have to live with them. They were already planning to move to Montana, so instead of selling the old house in Wabang, they agreed to rent it to you in the meantime. Unlike most landlords, they made it very clear that you could do whatever you wanted with the place and stay as long as you liked. So, now you were stuck on your own in the same childhood home you wanted to abandon, but at least rent was cheap, and you had a remote job you didn’t hate.
In an attempt to take control of your life, you chose to take your parents’ suggestion and completely redecorate. At the moment, the house had a mixture of ancient furniture your parents left behind, items from your childhood bedroom, and the stuff you could haul from your old apartment. All of it clashed, and none of it truly felt like home. Not anymore.
So you started by taking down everything you didn’t like, whether it was dusty art, weird statues, or those ugly curtains you always hated. You had half a mind to tear down the wallpaper, but chose to hold off on that until you knew it was possible to replace it. You placed items into the categories keep, storage, and sell, and slowly started replacing them with things that felt more… you. You were a one-woman show, which meant you needed to haul and install these things yourself. You weren’t exactly the handiest person, but you liked to think that you could handle yourself just fine. Luckily, your dad left some of his tools behind, so you had something to use when hanging up those frames and bookshelves you wanted.
With a little elbow grease, trial and error, and a makeshift ladder (a side table), you hung the floating shelf all on your own. You lined all of your books in a row and stepped back to admire your work. Then, there was a crack, and the shelf shifted until it buckled beneath the weight of your heavy literature. You jumped back with a gasp as your handiwork fell, taking a chunk of the wall along with it. In the end, you were left with a mess of plaster, a broken shelf, and a hole the size of a softball in the wall of your living room.
“Fuck.”
How you managed to fuck up a singular bookshelf was beyond you.
You had half a mind to straight-up duct tape it, but you were better than that. Still, you doubted spackle would help, so in an attempt to fix the hole in your wall, you drove down to the hardware store. Did you know what you were looking for? Not really, but that’s what the internet was for.
You went inside with an empty cart and greeted the owner at the front. He was an old man who had known your family for a long time and always treated you with kindness. He asked a few questions about your parents and offered you some help, but you graciously denied. Instead, you went down to the wood section, because, well…walls were made of wood, right? You stopped at a shelf of large flat panels and stared at them for a good thirty seconds before taking out your phone to look something up.
“You need help?”
You jumped at the voice, spinning around with a start.
“Holy shit, you scared me. You…Rhett?”
When you turned around and saw your old schoolmate, you nearly did a double-take. It’s been five years since you’ve seen Rhett Abbott, and to be honest, you didn’t expect to ever see him in this town, let alone the store. He, just like you, had plans of leaving Wabang, and you assumed he was doing better than you, considering that ambition of his.
Rhett looked more like a man now. He was dressed in jeans and an unbuttoned red flannel over a white shirt. He was taller, his features were more defined, and stubble peppered his jaw. His hair was longer now, too, but those blue eyes were unmistakable. Looking into them made your heart flutter even now, because not only was he your classmate, but you were also incredibly obsessed with him.
Rhett pointed at you with a lop-sided grin. “Y/N. I thought that was you.”
He approached you with some planks of wood hooked under his arm.
“How are you? What are you doing here?” you asked.
“I’m doing alright. Buying some stuff to fix the porch,” he replied.
“I mean here, in Wabang.”
Rhett furrowed his brow. “I live here. I’ve always lived here, Y/N. Or did you forget?”
You rolled your eyes. “No, obviously not. I guess I just thought you’d be out of here by now. You wanted to get the fuck off that ranch, remember?”
He sighed so low that it turned into a groan. “Yeah, well, that didn’t happen. Still here. Still at the Abbott ranch and riding bulls.”
That part made you smile. “You’re still riding? Good. You were always good at that.”
Bull riding was a big part of the culture at Wabang, whether watching or riding the bulls themselves. You went to plenty of rodeos with your family, and you had the pleasure of seeing Rhett ride his first few bulls before you left for college. It was just another thing on that list that made you crazy for him. He was handsome, charming, and talented.
Rhett looked down at his feet with a smile that lit up his eyes. You swore he blushed a little bit, which you didn’t expect at all.
“Thanks. I try my best.” He shifted the wooden planks to his other arm, meeting your gaze once again. “What about you? I haven’t seen you around in forever. Why’d you come back?”
Now it was your time to sigh heavily. “Health issues, college is expensive, existential crisis,” you listed off.
Rhett nodded in understanding. “Yeah, the existential crisis will get you. Hope those health issues aren’t too bad though.”
“No, I’m fine, for now,” you said, “but my parents left for Montana, and now I have the old house to myself. I still pay rent, but it’s livable enough for me to get back on my feet.”
“And what are you doing at the hardware store?” he asked curiously.
You opened your mouth, but then closed it hesitantly, still too embarrassed to fully admit what you did to your living room.
“I’m…redecorating,” you replied slowly.
Rhett narrowed his eyes, clearly not convinced by your tone.
“Do you need help?”
You dramatically put your hand on your hip. “Why? You think because I’m a woman, I don’t know how to find my way through a hardware store?”
Rhett raised his hand defensively with a chuckle. “Hey, I didn’t say that. I just wanted to double check, because unless you’re planning on renovating, I don’t know how helpful the sheathing’s gonna be.”
You scowled in bewilderment. “The what?”
Rhett laughed before pointing over your shoulder. “That’s the kind of wood construction workers use, like, for building the actual house.”
With your lip between your teeth, you looked at the stack of sheathing, feeling a little more mortified than before. He just had to be here, didn’t he? When you looked back at Rhett, he was fighting back a shit-eating grin, which both irked you and endeared you in a way that only he was ever capable of doing. Insane, how no time seemed to pass between you.
“I knew that,” you stated innocently.
Rhett nodded. “Of course you did.”
Since you had him here anyway and didn’t actually know what you were doing, you chose to cave a bit. Otherwise, you were never going to get that hole fixed, not without paying a lot of money.
You played with the cart and spoke in an overly casual tone.
“But…if a girl were looking for something to…say….fix a hole in the wall….what would she need to buy?”
Rhett blinked at you in amusement. “You just moved back, and you already need to fix a hole in the wall?
You scoffed. “It was an accident!”
He dropped his head with a laugh, his shoulders shaking with the action. You glared at him.
“Alright. Wait here. Let me get this to the truck, and I’ll give you a hand,” he said.
“Thank you,” you replied with a sigh.
Rhett disappeared, and you waited in that same aisle, wondering how the universe managed to bring him back into your life again. He was the biggest crush of your life, and it took you years to get over him. You convinced yourself that he moved far away and got married to someone vastly different from you, but as it turns out, you were in the same place all over again. In the same fucking store on the same fucking day.
When he returned, he helped you find exactly what you needed, which wasn’t wood at all, but drywall and other materials to attach it to the surrounding wall. As soon as you purchased everything you needed, Rhett accompanied you to your car and helped load everything into the trunk, which was very gentlemanly of him. You almost forgot how well-mannered men could be.
“Thanks, Rhett,” you said earnestly. “I think you just saved me a lot of money and stress.”
His smile made you weak at the knees.
“Any time,” he replied.
“It was really great seeing you,” you said.
There was a twinge of disappointment in your heart now that this short interaction was over.
“Yeah, it was,” Rhett replied with a nod. “You know, actually, if you want…I can fix the hole for you.”
Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I’m serious. I’ve done it before. It’s not that hard.”
You eyed him peculiarly, stunned by his eagerness to help you after all these years. It wasn’t out of character; in fact, it was one of the things you liked about him. Perhaps you were simply realizing just how much you missed having someone like Rhett around.
“Okay. Yeah, that’d be great, actually,” you replied.
The two of you exchanged numbers because after five years, something was bound to change, and he promised to stop by the next day.
Rhett came by the next afternoon with tools and a proper ladder, and as soon as he saw the hole you made, he laughed.
“Stop it,” you scolded, smacking him in the arm. “It was an accident.”
“Yeah, I can see why. You tried hanging a heavy bookshelf on a piece of drywall all by itself.”
“I didn’t know there was a difference! It all looks the same to me. Just fix it, please.”
While Rhett got started on repairing the damage in your living room, you busied yourself with painting the bathroom. The whole time, you were very painfully aware of his presence in your house. It wasn’t like he’s never been in it before.
In elementary school, before you were ever in love with him, he came to your birthday parties pretty frequently. But once you entered middle school, things changed as they always do at that age. Then high school came around, you were all a little older, and somehow, that boy who came to your birthday parties became something a little more to you. Of course, you never did anything about it, but now that boy was back in your house, fixing a hole in your wall.
Is this fate, or am I delusional?
Half an hour later, Rhett popped into the hallway.
“Well, the good news is that the hole is fixed. The bad news is that the wallpaper is fucked.”
You followed him into the living room, and both stared at his handywork. The wall was very obviously patched and smoothed over, but, as he said, the wallpaper was fucked, with a very obvious piece missing that he had to cut out to do his work.
You shrugged. “I guess that gives me an excuse to replace the wallpaper.”
“I’m afraid that’s beyond my expertise,” Rhett stated.
You giggled. “I’m sure I can figure that out. Thank you.”
You shot him a gracious smile, and as soon as your eyes connected, you were suddenly breathless. He beheld you with those shining blue eyes with a glint of admiration. Odd, because that’s how you were looking at him. Feelings that had been tucked away long ago rose to the surface, overwhelming you.
Feeling hot all over, you tore your attention away and said, “I was going to order takeout for dinner. You can stay if you want, as payment but also as old friends.”
Rhett nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d be down for that.”
You tried not to seem too excited about it lest you embarrass yourself again.
You and Rhett ate on the couch because you were still waiting for your new table to come in. He didn’t seem to mind, and it only broke the ice even further that may have formed between you in the years you’ve been apart. You spent the next few hours catching each other up on life with an ease that was somehow more natural than before. You were all grown up now, and that teenage anxiety wasn’t as world-ending as it used to be. The two of you were joking and laughing, and for the first time since you arrived back in Wabang, you felt less alone and more at home.
“So you plan on staying for a long time?” Rhett asked, taking a sip of beer.
You shook your head with a scowl. “I’d like not to, actually. This is supposed to be temporary.”
“If it’s temporary then why are you tearing this place apart?”
“Honestly? After everything, I needed a bit of a distraction. I wasn’t really happy about coming back here, so I figured redecorating this place would help. Like, if I was walking back to something new instead of the same childhood home, I’d feel less like I was living the same day over and over. My parents were gonna sell it anyway, so I’m probably doing them a favor.”
Rhett nodded and pointed the bottle at you. “That actually really smart. Makes sense to me.”
“Thank you,” you replied with a grin.
The silent look you shared seemed to fill more and more with a plethora of unspoken things. You knew what was in your mind and heart, but there was something in the way Rhett stared at you that made this silence loud. Your heart was beating like a drum and you swore he could hear it. Still, neither of you addressed it.
He helped you wash the dishes, which you didn’t expect at all. At the sink, you started to overthink and wonder how you ended up in this strangely domestic moment with Rhett Abbott. When you were done, he faced you with his arms crossed, resting his hip against the counter. He looked at you curiously with a lop-sided smile that drove you crazy in a good way.
Suddenly, the air was condensing and pressing in on you.
“What?” you asked, trying now to squirm.
Rhett shook his head. “I don’t know, I guess…I just never thought I’d see you again.”
You huffed. “Yeah, well, we both made promises to leave this all behind, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, yeah, but it’s crazy that we’re both here now, isn’t it?”
“I guess it is, yeah,” you replied.
In fact, you thought about it a lot since you saw him at that hardware store.
Rhett rested his hands on the edge of the counter, looking out the window with a deep, pondering look that told you there was something else on his mind. He was lingering and hesitating for a reason unbeknownst to you and it made you nervous.
“Are you okay?” you asked gently.
You expected him to either brush it off or respond with something personal, but he did neither of those things. Instead, he looked at you sideways.
“You know I used to have a huge crush on you, right?”
You blinked at him in astonishment, unsure if you heard him right.
“What?”
Rhett chuckled, facing you fully again. “Yeah, I had a thing for you back then. It was kind of a big deal.”
All of a sudden, your heart was beating so fast, you could hardly breathe, and your skin was tingling, every nerve ending suddenly hyperaware. You could have sworn you were dreaming. It took you a moment to find your words again in your shock.
“Wha-How-Since when?” you stammered.
“Since I was like sixteen, I think.”
You scoffed. “Rhett! Wh…Why didn’t you tell me?”
“‘Cause I was fuckin’ terrifed, that’s why,” he admitted with a chuckle.
“You were terrified of me?” you exclaimed.
“Yeah, well, you had your shit together more than me. You got into a good school, and you were leaving Wyoming. We were friends, and I didn’t wanna ruin that. I was a dumb kid.”
You gaped at him. It was such a bold thing to say outright, but the fact that it was Rhett saying it made it more real. He was always like that, unafraid of going after what he wanted, which is exactly why this secret boggled your mind. Did you make him so nervous that he had to refrain from making a move?
Were it not for his own admission, you would have never uttered the next words out loud.
“Are you kidding? Rhett, I was, like, in love with you.”
Rhett’s blue eyes slowly widened, his expression lighting up in wonder and bewilderment.
“What?”
“Yeah,” you said, giggling in shock. “I was torn up about it when I had to leave, but I was also kind of terrified because you were the young bull rider with a really cool future or whatever.”
“No way, Y/N.”
“It’s true.”
Rhett took you in fully, as if with fresh eyes, and then stepped a little closer to you. Your heart immediately stuttered. It was so unconscious even now, but no part of you wanted to back away. There was a yearning in his expression you swore was never there before, or were you too young and dumb back then to even notice?
“Is that…past tense, or…?” he asked.
You swallowed thickly and had to briefly avert your gaze because eye contact with Rhett Abbott was still too much for you. You’d be a liar if you said you never thought about him these last few years. He wasn’t the kind to post on social media, so keeping up with him was nearly impossible. The two of you texted here and there after graduation, but eventually lost touch, and you gave up on the idea that anything would happen at all. But now you were both here in your childhood home, confessing feelings that you locked away in a box years ago. Maybe some things do happen for a reason.
“Past…and present,” you whispered. “You?”
The corner of his lips twitched. “Very much present. I think running into you in that hardware store is the best thing that’s happened in a long time.”
You inhaled a shuddering breath, the feeling of his body heat very heard to ignore.
“Me too. Thank God for that hole in the wall.”
Rhett nodded with a grin, his dimples prominent. “Mhmmm.”
He inched a little closer, never tearing his attention off of you, and as if some invisible thread were attached to your heart, you felt yourself pulled in his direction. You watched as his eyes flitted between yours and then your lips, the desire clear in his eyes. You reached out to touch him, fingers clutching the material of his shirt, and you tugged him towards you. Rhett took your face in his warm hands and crashed his lips into yours. You sighed and pushed yourself into him further, deepening the kiss.
You often fantasized about what it would be like to kiss Rhett Abbott. Most of it was based on scenes you saw and read about in romances, and then you just hoped it would be better than how all the other boys kissed you. And it was. It was the best kiss of your life, rooted in years of repressed feelings, and it amounted to a wonderful revelation. Even better was that you weren’t kids anymore, and Rhett could kiss you the way only a man like him could. You wanted to know each other’s lips and mouth by heart.
As the temperature in the room climbed higher, Rhett pressed you back against the counter and lifted you onto the surface. He pulled back slightly, and when he met your eyes, there was a question in them. He was waiting for consent or permission to move forward, and without any words, you responded with a resounding nod. You yearned for more than just a kiss with him and even more beyond that.
He pulled off his shirt, revealing a tattoo and toned muscles beneath. He unbuckled his pants, and you undid your shorts, shimmying them down your legs, onto the floor. With a darkened gaze, Rhett looked between your bare thighs and face and kissed you hard. He braced himself on the cabinet behind you and ran the fingers of his other hand through your folds. You were already wet and aching from how much you wanted him.
You cupped his face, your eyes half-lidded, and moaned, “Rhett.”
He groaned. “You’re gorgeous.”
Rhett molded his lips to yours, swallowing your moans as he curled two fingers into you. You pressed yourself against the cabinets, bracing yourself against them from the pleasure he brought you with just one hand. He circled your clit with his thumb, but before you could reach your orgasm, he pulled his fingers out.
You made a questioning sound, borderline angry.
“Hold on, Sweetheart,” he said.
Rhett pulled his pants down and started stroking himself. With your heart thrumming against your ribs, you scooted as close to the edge of the counter as you could. Again, Rhett braced himself against the cabinet, and you both watched as he aligned himself and pushed inside you. You whined low in your throat, your eyes fluttering as you savored every inch. Rhett looked drunk on the pure feeling of you as he filled you completely.
“You feel perfect, Y/N,” he rumbled. “Holy shit.”
You took his face in your hands as he started drilling in and out of you. You were connected in a way you only ever imagined, and it added a layer of pleasure to the one already making your cells come alive. Rhett moved in a manner that wasn’t too slow, or too hasty, but determined, and he looked at you as if he never wanted to lose you ever again. With every swing of his hips, his cock dragged against the most sensitive parts of you, and you were lost in it. You wouldn’t be surprised if your neighbors could hear everything you were doing.
His name was all you could manage to say.
“Rhett…Rhett, please.”
You kissed Rhett voraciously clinging to his shoulders, when your orgasm shook through you. You arched into him, groaning out his name along with a slew of curses. Suddenly, Rhett pulled out and thrusted into his own hand before cumming into his palm with a guttural moan.
For a moment, both of you stared at each other, both panting as you rested against the cabinets. Rhett then stepped over to the sink to wash his hands and then swiftly pulled up his jeans, tucking himself back in. He picked up your shorts and set them beside you, and with a little more mischief in his eyes, he kissed you languidly. You pulled him in by the waist, somehow not quite satiated.
“Will you stay with me tonight?” you whispered, pushing back his hair.
Rhett smirked, his eyes sparkling, and nodded vigorously. “Okay.”
You were never letting him out of your sight ever again.
